PM pushes NT to reinstate Banned Drinker Register

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the scrapping of the Banned Drinker Register by the Country Liberals Government was a retrograde step.

AAP: Julian Smith

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says she will be stepping up pressure on the Northern Territory Government to tackle alcohol problems.

Leaked data from the Alice Springs Hospital shows the proportion of emergency patients presenting with alcohol-related problems doubled in the five months after the Banned Drinker Register (BDR) was scrapped.

Ms Gillard, who is in Darwin, says the scrapping of the BDR by the Country Liberals Government was a retrograde step.

She says she will urge that the scheme be reintroduced.

"I don't want to be in a position where we are continuing to invest at record rates [in the Territory] only to see that good work undermined by the tap being turned on for alcohol," she said.

Ms Gillard says she is concerned the Federal Government's measures to address Indigenous disadvantage are being undermined by the Territory government's alcohol policies.

"I'm very determined on this matter; I am dismayed and disgusted by what has happened here," she said.

"We will keep pressure up on the Northern Territory Government to change its mind and to step away from this incredibly destructive change."

On other matters, the Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she has no plans to change the zone tax rebate for the Territory.